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A gentle story about loss, lasting love and remembrance that will move hearts.

The Forever Kid is a powerful picture book tackling the complex subject of grief from a child’s perspective. The thoughtful, wise narrative and beautiful illustrations combine to sensitively explore the idea that loved ones are always connected even when relationships change. This story about the strength of family love is gently told and tenderly illustrated.

Synopsis

It’s Johnny’s birthday but he is no longer here. His family still gathers and lovingly celebrates him on his birthday.
By continuing Johnny’s favourite party traditions, and sharing special memories, the family feel a sense of closeness and comfort on this day of remembrance. They will always cherish Johnny, their Forever Kid.

“Some stories remind us that this life that has been gifted to us is finite. The Forever Kid, written by Elizabeth Mary Cummings, is that story.“

Elizabeth Mary Cummings has qualifications in psychology and a Masters of Education. She has had a number of successful picture books and junior fiction titles published, as well as award winning poetry. Her stories often take a child’s perspective to explain the world and reflect on important life experiences including themes of resilience, grief, empowerment, anti-bullying and mental health. She is a […]

Cheri Hughes was born in Japan and raised in both the U.S. and Japan. She studied design in Japan and specialises in illustration. Even as a small child, and prior to any studies, she always knew what she would be doing and that involved creating a world through visual interpretation. Cheri moved around a lot […]

8 reviews for The Forever Kid PB

Rated 5 out of 5

Reviewed by Educate. Empower–October 2, 2018

Johnny is not in that photo but we know he is with us.
Johnny our forever kid.
That’s what we call him now.
The Forever Kid by Elizabeth Mary Cummings and Cheri Hughes is a powerful picture book that explores how children feel when they lose a sibling.

We meet a family who love celebrating birthdays – birthdays filled with favourite people, favourite dinners and favourite snacks!

But this year the celebration is different because their big brother Johnny isn’t around anymore.

We don’t know why Johnny has gone but we do know that now he is a forever kid – forever in the hearts and the minds of the family.

This book is a celebration of Johnny’s life – a celebration of what he loved to do and how good he made them feel. It does not dwell on the sadness felt by the family – though we can sense this – but rather them trying to enjoy the happy memories.

The illustrations on each page ooze emotion and allow the young reader to see how the family is feeling throughout each stage of mourning. Through this they can see that mourning a loved one is ok – it’s an important thing to do and it’s something we can do with others who shared that person as well.

The forever kid would be a great book to share with anyone who has lost someone, especially young children. I think that it brings a sense of empowerment to the young reader as it shows that it is ok to miss someone and memories are a treasure we should always celebrate.

Given that today is my birthday, it’s fitting that I’m reviewing a book about a birthday, though this is a party with a difference – the birthday boy isn’t in attendance.

This is an incredibly powerful story about a family remembering a child on his birthday, doing all the things that Johnny loved to do. The story is told through the point of view of his younger brother who remembers his brother with a mix of joy, sadness, and guilt.

Illustrations by Cheri Hughes add to the story, giving us some clues about Johnny and how the family are coping.

It is lovely how the family come together to remember Johnny and the activities he enjoyed in their grief.

Even if you’re in a family who has never lost a child, this would be a good book to have in your library as it highlights the joys and sadness of losing someone and can teach children that, even in the sad times, you can still remember with joy

Rated 5 out of 5

Barbara Braxton–October 4, 2018

This gentle book, with its soft, sympathetic illustrations, is a reminder to us all that we need to acknowledge our children’s feelings and their grief, and allow them the opportunity to remember and celebrate and know that it is perfectly okay to do so. Take the time to lie on the grass with your child, make up cloud stories and let them remember and reminisce. It will help you both.

Rated 5 out of 5

Reviewed by The Bottom Shelf–October 4, 2018

Today is Johnny’s birthday. And as in many families, the birthday kid gets to choose the food, the games and the way they want to celebrate. And Johnny’s family is no different. Cloud stories are definitely on the list of must-do – lying on your back and looking for pictures in the clouds and making up stories about what you see.

But this birthday is different to the others that have gone before. For this year, Johnny is no longer there. He’s the Forever Kid – one who was part of the family but who has passed away leaving just memories. And on the is special day, each family member remembers Johnny in their own special way as they celebrate and feel closer to him. But they all gather together to look for and make cloud stories.

Much as it saddens us as adults to think that the children we know are touched by death and grief, nevertheless it is a fact of life for many. Illness and accidents take their toll and often the adults are so busy dealing with adult-things that the toll of the child is overlooked. Kids are seen as resilient, as ‘not really understanding’, as bounce-back-and-move-on beings. But anyone who has been with a child who has had to face such a harsh reality will know that the pain runs deep and the bewilderment is confusing so to have such a gentle book that focuses on the child left behind, their feelings, even their guilt, is a salutary reminder that as adults, we need to take care of their emotions too.

A gentle story about loss, lasting love and remembrance that will move hearts. The Forever Kid is a powerful picture book tackling the complex subject of grief from a child’s perspective. The thoughtful, wise narrative and beautiful illustrations combine to sensitively explore the idea that loved ones are always connected even when relationships change. This story about the strength of family love is gently told and tenderly illustrated.

Johnny is The Forever Kid and he’s celebrating his birthday. Only problem is, he’s passed away. His family still gather and lovingly celebrate his birthday. They continue Johnny’s favourite party traditions by sharing very special memories of him. They experience a sense of closeness and comfort on his special day of remembrance.

Johnny will forever be The Forever Kid in their hearts and memories.

Elizabeth’s picture book gently tackles how children can deal with grief. I love the quote below on how she wrote this book.

‘I draw on messages of hope, of resilience and of the power within each of us to understand our emotions even with these strong emotions of grief and loss and to be able to keep living.’

Cheri Hughes illustrates the book beautifully, sensitively … and tenderly.

The Forever Kid is about remembering a child who will never grow up. The family in the story celebrate the memory of the child who is no longer with them by celebrating their birthday with the food and games that that child loved.
This is a lovely book written from a child’s perspective which means it is easier for children to relate to the story. It encourages the sharing of feelings in a safe supportive way.
The illustrations in this book are simple and they support the story beautifully.
It can be used as a starting point for discussions on the topic of grief both by parents and teachers, as this is a sympathetic way to discuss the topic of loss. Some activities are available from Just Write for Kids blog.
I highly recommend this book for 4+
read more here: https://www.readplus.com.au/blog_detail.php?id=9194

Rated 5 out of 5

Reviewed by Julieann Wallace–October 15, 2018

Some stories remind us that this life that has been gifted to us is finite. The Forever Kid, written by Elizabeth Mary Cummings, is that story.

Elizabeth gently welcomes us into Johnny’s family, and we meet his three siblings, Mother, Father, and Barker, the dog. The story is told from the point of view of Johnny’s brother, and the pages are filled with memories of Johnny, both happy and sad, carefree, and with some brotherly guilt at times. But most of all, the story is filled with love.

Illustrator, Cherie Hughes, has depicted the story of loss with tenderness, capturing the grief of Johnny’s family, and their memories of treasured moments.
The Forever Kid is a beautifully illustrated story that celebrates life, while sensitively hile sensitively dealing with loss, with a gentle weaving of memories by enacting Johnny’s favourite things on his birthday, filling the pages with his presence. Although confronting a terribly difficult topic of the loss of a child and sibling, The Forever Kid leaves the reader with an overwhelming feeling of love and hope, and the celebrated family traditions ensure Johnny will never be forgotten.